Module Information

Module Identifier
FM36220
Module Title
Television and Society in Britain in the 20th Century
Academic Year
2015/2016
Co-ordinator
Dr Jamie Medhurst
Semester
Semester 2
Pre-Requisite
Successful completion of Part 1 Film and TV Studies, Media and Communication Studies or History
Other Staff
 

Course Delivery

Delivery Type Delivery length / details
Lecture 10 x 2 Hour Lectures
 

Assessment

Assessment Type Assessment length / details Proportion
Semester Assessment Critical analysis of a primay historical source (2000 words)  40%
Semester Assessment Essay (3000 words)  60%
Supplementary Assessment Critical analysis of a primay historical source (2000 words)  40%
Supplementary Assessment Essay (3000 words)  60%

Brief description

The subject matter of this module will be the emergence of television broadcasting in the UK from the 1920s, the structures it developed and the forces which shaped its output. Through a broadly chronological approach, the module will also consider the ways in which television mediated the changing nature of society, was subject to, and part of, these changes, rather than merely reflecting what was happening, and how television shaped cultural and national debates.

Aims

The aim of this module is to enable final year students to understand the historical development of television, engage with historical and critical debates about that process, and to locate policy decisions about television within an historical context. In doing this they will earn to critically evaluate primary historical sources and policy debates.

Content

Lectures and seminars on the following:

1. Introduction to television history and policy

2. Pre-war television developments I

3. Pre-war television developments II

4. Post-war television in the 1950s

5. Liberalising the airwaves: television in the 1960s

6. An era of change: television in the 1970s

7. Deregulation and unrest: television in the 1980s

8. Consolidation: television in the 1990s

9. Case study: Wales

10. Television and society in the 21st century

Module Skills

Skills Type Skills details
Application of Number An understanding of some aspects of the application of number, i.e. some experience reading and interpreting tabulated data.
Communication Skills of oral communication will be developed in the seminars.
Improving own Learning and Performance The work in seminars, and the reading, will cumulatively aid students in developing across the module as will feedback on the first assignment.
Information Technology Students will be required to use IT in their essay preparation and research.
Personal Development and Career planning
Problem solving Students will explore problems in the history of television which will be developed through seminars and coursework.
Research skills In addition to developing a critical understanding of the methods used to write television history, students will be directed as to how to conduct bibliographical research on their subjects. This will be reflected in their coursework.
Subject Specific Skills
Team work Seminar work will be conducted in groups.

Notes

This module is at CQFW Level 6